Scammed Artists

Let’s count the ways I and countless other artists spend and waste money on our journey to sharing and selling our art!

I wrote elsewhere (here and here) about how our society relies on artists to create art without any help or compensations for the most part because, unlike science, art is considered an unnecessary luxury. In my opinion, it’s a complete nonsense.  Art is just so important in our lives and our cultures that we don’t even realize the extent of our reliance on it to keep our societies going and our minds balanced. 

Not only is society expecting artists to create art with few help or recognition, there is an entire industry out there profiteering off starving artists.

Of course, there are artists who make a living, there are even artists who are rich and famous - good for them! - But the vast majority of artists are neither.  Most artists I know make ends meet by teaching art classes, having other jobs or just waited till they retired so they could concentrate on their art.  I’ve heard of artists who actually decided to take another job after being full time artists for a while, so they could keep creating art and not have the financial pressure to make art that sells well as opposed to whatever art they want to experiment with.

But no matter what, artists will create.  There is this huge pool of artists out there who love their art and want to share it, because art is only half alive if you’re the only one seeing it.  Also, supplies are expensive and your house shelves and walls are not infinite, so at some point after gifting a lot of your pieces around you and reaching a point where you feel confident about the quality of your art you will look at selling it.  And that’s where you end up spending money instead of making it.

I must add that this post is NOT looking at ways artists are actually getting scammed in ways that are punishable by law (see this article), using a flaw all artists have: believing that their art is amazing and ready to accept that someone is finally willing to pay what it is worth.

Etsy

A friend of mine started an Etsy store and encouraged me to do the same thing.   I know people who are doing well on Etsy, but I’m not one of them.  Etsy (like most online endeavors) starts with the right keyword and art is hard to define in keywords.  What makes my art unique so people should get a chance to see it?  I have not found the magic word yet.

I watched a lot of you tube video, articles and various blog posts on how to improve my chances.  I rewrote my descriptions, got a light box, made better pictures, made videos, reworked my keywords, none of it seemed to make a difference.  At some point I even paid Etsy ads, and although my views increased, I did not sell more.  In the meantime I am paying Etsy to display my pieces.  I am not losing money, but Etsy is making a lot more money off of me than I am making thanks to them.   Etsy is like gambling at the casino, there is a small chance you’ll be part of the happy few who leave with extra money, but mostly you will be feeding the casino.   I know this because many people out there are trying to sell you their five magical steps to succeeding on Etsy, so I’m not the only one who is struggling.  The titles vary, sometimes they say it’s free but you have to give your email address, so they’re building their email list.  I’ve tried it when it was free, and what I received was not anything different than what I had already found elsewhere on the internet.

Social Media

After few and far between orders on Etsy, I decided that instead of relying on Etsy to find customers for me, I needed to attract my own clientele.  Since I was selling online, the easiest way to find customers was to invest in social media.  So I created a Facebook and Instragram account and started posting regularly on both platform. Later I created a You Tube channel and a Pinterest account, but I am really not active on those because you cannot do everything.    Remember, I still have to do all the work needed to take pictures of my stuff and post them on Etsy, but now on top of it I also need to create content for social media.  And, you know, actually find the time to create art.

It takes time to build a following on social media, and there as well you’re encouraged to spend money to go faster.  A few times I paid ads on Facebook and Instagram, and yes, I got more followers, but not sales.  On social media as well the sharks are circling.  You get a lot of solicitations to send your *beautiful* work onto popular account in your field (if you pay), learn the five magical steps to get more followers (if you pay or give your email address) and plain just pay for more followers (not bots, definitely not bots).  Since Internet makes it so easy to reach people, share videos and create online courses, there are also numerous online classes to teach you anything from making to selling your art.  I am sure some of this content would be very useful to me, but how much do I need to spend to find this gem?   

What I have been modestly successful at to increase my followers for free is reels on Instagram.  I have one reel so far that got almost 50 000 views and I gained 150 followers from this reel.  For free.  I gained less when I actually paid Instagram.  So if I have a (free) advice it is to keep making reels, keep them short and try to figure out the type of reels you make that Instagram likes and seems to get traction and then make more of the same style.  Also, use trending soundtrack.   I joined Instagram just when people were saying it was broken, and I see what they mean: only a fraction of my followers actually see my posts.  But there is still something to be gained on Instagram, whereas I gave up on Facebook.  I still post there because I can do both Instagram and Facebook at the same time, but Facebook doesn’t show anything to anyone (even the people who liked your page) if you don’t pay, at least in my experience.   For now, more followers has not meant more sales, but one can hope.  In the meantime, I have to find content for four posts a week, reel ideas and the odd stories.  I must say I actually enjoy this more than I enjoy working on my Etsy store.  It’s social, as it’s supposed to be.  It is amazing to think that people all over the globe can discover your work and like it, it’s certainly flattering to your ego but it also make you a better artist, because you’re discovering what other people are doing and getting inspiration from them.  So, even if so far Instagram has not helped me sell my art it is a positive experience despite the huge time drain it creates.

Art submissions

The other thing you want to do to be recognized as an artist is to exhibit your work in galleries.  To do so you need to submit your work to open calls, and…you guessed it…  there is a fee.  I wish I was a street artist sometimes, nobody to pay to exhibit my art, just the odd chance to end up in jail…. If you’re broke, choose street art!   Unfortunately, ceramics is not a very easy media to share on the streets (unless, like Space Invader, you create mosaics…)

I understand that galleries need money to organize exhibitions, but some exhibitions seem to be organized just to make money for the organizers, and when you’re new to the whole scene, it’s hard to tell the difference.  Online exhibitions are especially iffy.  I’ve seen some that don’t make you pay to submit your work but make you pay if your artwork is selected.  And they selected a lot of pieces.   In a physical gallery, they need space.  In a virtual gallery, all you need is a website and you can exhibit thousands of artists who are willing to pay so they can add to their resume that they were part of an exhibition and be taken seriously as artists.  I haven’t figured out how to tell the “good” exhibitions from the bad ones yet.  I got one of my pieces accepted to an online exhibition this year and although proud of it, I have this nagging suspicion that my wallet -not my art- was the feature they selected me for.

Residencies

Another experience I would love to have as an artist is an art residency.  It sounds like a dream:  time to create art all day while meeting other artists and talking about art.  Naively, I thought residencies were a way to encourage emerging artists to create by providing them with a creative space, lodging and a stipend to cover food and materials.  They exist but that’s not the majority and they look impossible to get into without a long resume of past art exhibitions and awards under your belt.

There are long term residencies that look more like apprenticeships, where residents teach classes or run the kiln against access to studio, tool and equipment and that sounds great for young artists but not something I can apply for right now. 

 Most residencies I have researched online are glorified Air B and Bs targeted toward artists.  Some even organize an exhibition at the end, so you can add this to your resume as well.  But from what I can tell, the only requirement is that you pay. 

There are also what are called “artists accelerator programs” where you pay to get coached about becoming an artist.  Is it worth it?  I am sure it depends on the program, and once again, how can you tell?

In residencies like in exhibitions, the kind where galleries or art spaces are happy to help you exhibit or create your art for free exist,  but you need to build your resume before you can even consider applying, and to build your resume you need to pay. Like in the real world you need to do internships to get a real job at some point.

It’s not necessarily a problem, I understand that I have to prove myself before I can access better opportunities.  The problem is that, if you are a self-taught artist there is so much on offer out there and no one to tell you what you should consider and which ones are worth the cost.

Art Festivals/Craft Markets

Not everything happens online.  As an artist, art festivals or craft markets are a great way to show your work to the public and see what catches their eyes.  After playing the online game for a while, I decided I needed to give markets a try.  Some I looked at have 500-600 dollars booth fees for a couple of days, and that’s once you have bought all the material you need (canopy, shelves, weights, fire extinguisher, dolly,  etc…).  Getting started has a cost, and then when you apply for a market, once again it’s a gamble.  You are gambling a lot of time, effort and money in hoping that enough people will buy your stuff to not only cover the booth fee and then make it worth the effort to travel to wherever the market is, set up and take down, put everything back in boxes and just plain take time to sell instead of making. Like everything else, you can only learn which ones work for you by doing, and so you need to invest money to learn.  I have heard numerous artists talk about shows where they “didn’t make their booth fee”.  The public like to wander art markets like an outdoor museum where they can just look and be inspired, and it’s great, but the artists are the one footing the bill.  As a result it seems like art shows have a harder time selling their booths and, like on Etsy, the real artists are becoming few and far between because if you find a way to create something fast and cheaply, you’re more likely to make a profit.  Soon enough, art markets turn to junk markets.

 Consignment

Another way to sell your art is to put it in a shop or gallery.  The shop/gallery usually takes 40-50% of your retail price just to sell your stuff or rents you shelf space no matter whether you sell or not.  I have not done this yet because it seems like extortion to me, so I can’t talk about it.  I guess it’s an option if you hate getting out of your house and marketing your art.   

So….Are there any ways NOT to get scammed?

I don’t know.  I think of it as a learning experience, you spend money to find what works for you.    Of course it sucks, because it means poor artists do not have a chance, although there are more grants and doors open to poor and minority artists these days.   Not enough, surely.   Art is a privilege, and it shouldn’t be.

Personally, I have decided to focus more on the opportunities available in my area, while still keeping my online store and social media going.  Apart from regional craft markets, I am part of a ceramics guild which gave me access to various opportunities like teaching  and taking interesting workshops, being part of open studio tours  and art festival which led me to knowing more artists, talking to them and being aware of more opportunities and so on and so forth.  Maybe I tried to run before I could walk, so I am learning to slow down.  As long as I keep trying, I’m doing it right.

Surprisingly, there is an online resource I have found to be helpful: a Facebook group for potters.  Every time I have a question about what canopy I should buy for a market, which glue I should use to attach a hanger to my ceramic mirrors, which residencies I should look into or any other questions, chances are someone will have answered the question before.  I hate Facebook in some ways, but Facebook groups are a great resource for artists.

Please share in comments any resources/experiences that have helped you find your way as a successful artist.

Cover Image: the cheat with the ace of diamond, Georges de la Tour